Bitrez crowned Manufacturing Company of the Year

Bitrez, one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of specialist polymers and chemicals, has been crowned Manufacturing Company of the Year 2019 at the Chemicals Northwest awards. Sponsored by Biochemica Water, the award recognises Bitrez’s sustainable growth and excellence in developing and bringing innovative products to market.

“We are delighted to have won manufacturing company of the year, especially considering the calibre of our opposition. We’ve had an outstanding 12 months necessitating the transition to a 24-7 operation increasing capacity and providing a means for further production output. We couldn’t have done it without the support of our customers, suppliers and exemplary staff,” commented Paul Jones, Managing Director of Bitrez.

Bitrez’s synthetic resin, catalysts and curing agents are used by companies across aerospace, defence, automotive, construction, packaging and coatings industries. Based in Standish, Wigan, the company says it is dedicated to developing innovate solutions to fill the gap provided by products that have been withdrawn from the market due to regulatory reform.

Products in Bitrez’s range include:

Curabox – a family of flame-retardant thermoset resins used in primary and secondary structures for aerospace, or frames, body panels and structural reinforcements on trains, buses, trucks and cars

Curaphen – phenolic polymers with specialist low free formaldehyde resins, which have sold more than 5,000 tonnes into the packaging sector and are gaining traction in other coatings businesses across the globe and the world’s first REACh (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) compliant Ketamine epoxy curing agent

Established in 1980, Bitrez offers a range of services from R&D to toll conversion, as well as technical support. Its team of chemists produces materials from laboratory scale through a transient pilot stage to enable scale up and allow for small scale qualification work before moving to commercial manufacture.

The award ceremony took place at the Imperial War Museum North, Manchester on 28 March and was attended by over 200 professionals from the North West’s chemical industry.